Miracles Happen
by Florida's Firefly
Summary: A story about the years in between from when Marlin found Nemo's damaged egg to his first day of school. RR!


A/N: Alright, First thing's first: I DON'T OWN FINDING NEMO. But I WILL SOMEDAY because when I leave college I'm GONNA GO WORK AT PIXAR AND THEN I'LL OWN IT!!  
  
This is my first chapter work and I just came up with the idea one night at like 2:00 am. Most of the chapters will be pretty short, but there shouldn't be much of a wait in between them.  
  
One thing I didn't notice until I started work on the first 2 chapters (and I find it kinda funny) is that the chapter names are all song titles. LOL, see cause this first chapter is called "Miracles Happen" (Myra), and the next chapter is called "Hello" (Evanesence).  
  
Anyway, I'll stop gabbing and let you read ^^.  
  
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There it was - a miracle right in front of his own eyes.  
  
Marlin held his breath and swam quickly towards the single egg that sat on the ledge. Looking through its crimson, translucent shell, he could make out the young embryo inside wiggling its tiny tail. His stomach settled in knowing it was still well alive.  
  
"There, there, there…" he whispered. He reached out and very gently slid the egg onto his fin. "…It's okay, Daddy's here." He slowly closed his fins around his son protectively. Gently rolling it over, he lifted one fin and noted a deep scratch right on the surface of the shell. He knew at that moment that he was about to make the biggest promise of his life. This one, damaged miracle was all that he had to hold to his heart. He leaned in closer and whispered. "…I promise…I will never let anything happen to you…"  
  
Marlin paused. He had yet to give the child a name. He thought back to his conversation with Coral that day. She had brought up the name 'Nemo' for a suggestion. Marlin had assured his wife that they would name one Nemo, but he wanted the others to be named 'Marlin Jr.'. Fighting back tears at the thought of her, he made a decision to keep true to his word. It took him a few seconds to swallow the lump in his throat and finally speak his son's name.  
  
"…Nemo…"  
  
He would have stood there for hours if he could, holding his one son safely and securely in his fins. But he was brought back to reality when he looked off into the moonlit open, hearing the haunting echoes and clicks of pods of the nocturnal predators. Quickly but gently, he tucked Nemo into the crook of his fin. He looked at the lavender-colored anemone that he and Coral had selected before there at the very edge of the open water. He looked back at the egg and decided he wasn't going to take any more chances of the safety of his family. He would have to find somewhere safer - much safer.  
  
Maybe I can find a safer place somewhere in the reef, he thought. He looked and saw the large shadows of the distant corals. Taking a deep breath, he began his tiring journey towards the reef. He body still felt sore from his battle with the barracuda and his head still hurt from being thrown into that rock. He grimaced a little as he urged forward with Nemo in his fin. "It's okay, son." he said. "We're gonna get you out of here."  
  
He began swimming, drawing closer to the lush reef and struggling to keep his eyes open. He knew it was terribly late, and it had been a very tiring evening. What was more important, he had to be alert at every moment. Predators such as eels and reef sharks were sure to be stalking in the shadows, waiting to seize any unfortunate small fish that happened to cross its path. The thought gave Marlin just enough of an adrenaline rush to persistently press on.  
  
Finally, he came to the flourishing coral fields that told him he was definitely in the reef. He looked around. Everything was empty. Of course, he thought. Heaven knows what time it is.   
  
About another half hour passed by of searching for a suitable place to stay. It felt like an eternity of passing by several little caves and anemones, unfortunately occupied already, until at last he entered into a strip of sand, lined with red, golden, and lavender coral all around. At the very end of this strip, he caught sight of a golden-colored anemone, sheltered in the little cul-de-sac around it.  
  
Thank you, God. Marlin let out a sigh of relief. Slowly, and carefully, he approached the golden, wavering tentacles. "…Hello?" he called out quietly, not wanting to scare any poor clownfish that was possibly sleeping in there. Hearing nothing, he swam a little closer and raised his voice a little louder. "Hello!"  
  
Still nothing.  
  
Finally, tucking the egg under his fin, Marlin swam up and poked his head through the tendrils. Apparently, this certain anemone had either been abandoned, or the ones who dwelled in it were just not there at the moment. He prayed that nobody else lived there. Exhausted, he dropped down on the anemone floor and let out a sigh. He slowly lifted his fin to check on Nemo. "Alright…" he said quietly. "I think we're safe here for now."  
  
He gently nudged the egg close to his scaly body to try and keep it sheltered from the night cold. Then, he looked up. Above him, the moon shone its light into the water and through the tendrils of the anemone. Marlin stared into oblivion. It was just him and Nemo now, nobody else. Had he been just a little more awake, he would have been much more aware of how things were about to change. Sleepily, he lay his head down on the floor and curled his fin around the egg. Then, finally, his heavy eyelids shut and he was in a deep sleep within minutes.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Good? Bad? Review?!  
  
I started working on the next chappy before I even posted this one. The only problem is that I'm having oceanography issues - That is trying to find stuff on newborn clownfish, which is what I am doing at this moment. I'll have the next chapter up as soon as I can!!  
  
BTW, you ppl on the FN forum will know my FN alter-ego. Ya know, Summer? Marlin's sister? She's in the next chappy!!!  
  
PEACE OUT!!! ^^ 


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